This invention relates to electrical connectors. More particularly, this invention is directed to connectors for use in environments experiencing severe vibration and extreme temperature.
Connecting an electrical wire to a cylindrical post is generally a simple matter. One possible solution is to solder the wire directly to the post. In the design and manufacture of ring laser gyroscopes, a high voltage wire must be connected to the cathode, which is a cylindrically shaped device approximately one inch in diameter. One end of the cathode is terminated in a dome and the other end is flared out to a flange. The accepted method of connecting the wire to the cathode has been to insert a phosphor bronze pin directly into the flange of the cathode and to connect the wire to this pin by soldering.
The method described above has several disadvantages. Inherent in the operation of some versions of the ring laser gyroscope is dithering, a continuous vibration necessary for the operation of the gyroscope. Direct connection to a pin staked into the cathode offers no strain relief for the wire at the solder joint. The vibrations flex the wire and may ultimately cause a brittle failure of the wire close to the joint. To overcome the vibration problem, a special strain relief arrangement must be added, thus increasing the cost of the unit. Furthermore, the solder connection is made several times as a gyroscope is assembled. At each reconnection, the portion of the wire soldered to the pin is cut off to prevent brittle failure at the pin, shortening the cable until it must be replaced. Also, the heat from the soldering may melt the sealing material adjacent the cathode case, defeating the vacuum seal between the cathode and the gyroscope body.
Because the cathode of the ring laser gyroscope is typically thermally oxidized at temperatures very close to its melting temperature, the phosphor bronze pin also oxidizes very heavily. This condition may prevent one from making an adequate solder joint and cause a failure of the electrical path between the phosphor bronze pin and the aluminum alloy of the case.
It is therefore desired to create a connector that mounts to the cathode case without the necessity of a solder connection. Furthermore, the connection should provide strain relief protection for the wire.